


The Black Brothers

by mckinnonandblack



Series: Marlene McKinnon: A Warrior [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/F, F/M, Friendship, Romance, some sexual content
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-08
Updated: 2016-06-01
Packaged: 2018-05-16 00:57:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5807092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mckinnonandblack/pseuds/mckinnonandblack
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marlene McKinnon never wanted the Black boys to fight over her. She never even expected it. She was pretty, yes, but she didn't think Sirius Black would ever take notice of her. Regulus she could understand. She was engaged to him because of her parents so she could see how he was protective of her. Who will Marlene McKinnon choose? Sirius Black, troublemaker, heartthrob of Hogwarts, and runaway from a family who hated him? Or Regulus, a man who loves his family, a good person, and a respectable pureblood?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! So this little story popped into my head and I had to write it down. Anyway tell me what you think of the first chapter!

_**Prologue** _

Two black haired boys played in the meadow with a blonde girl.

The oldest of the boys was running in the lead. His steel gray eyes searching the horizon. His black hair was trimmed up to his neck recently. It had once been down to his shoulders. His black robes blew in the wind. He was the bigger of the two boys by far. His face promised he would handsome. A bark like laugh fell out of his mouth as he ran from the other two children.

The younger of the boys followed his brother quickly keeping up with him. His eyes were gray as his brother and his hair as black. He was smaller than both the girl and the boy. His was slimmer than his brother. He moved quicker than his brother sometimes pulling ahead of him.

The girl was the last to come. She couldn't keep up with the boys in her yellow sundress. Her blue eyes keeping them in sight as if trying to run with her eyes. Her long blonde hair whipped behind her. Her legs moved faster as she pulled her dress up. Her dress was too long for running in a meadow.

The two boys laughed as the girl tried to keep up with them in her dress.

"Guys, wait up!" the little girl called almost falling over.

The older boy stopped and waited while the younger boy walked over to the girl.

"Are you alright?" the younger boy asked, offering his hand to help her up.

"Of course, she's alright!" the older boy huffed. "Come on, I want to get going!"

The younger boy glared at his brother before turning back to the girl. She smiled sweetly at the younger boy. The older boy glared at his brother when he saw this though the young boy was unaware of it. The girl got to her feet and she and the younger boy moved over to his brother.

"Are you alright?" the older boy asked looking down at his shoes almost sheepishly.

"Yes," the girl replied.

"I'm sorry for not coming back for you," he apologized his toe hitting the dirt and uprooting it.

"It's alright," she told him smiling.

The older boy smiled at the girl and she returned his smile. Suddenly the younger brother felt as if he were looking in on something privet like his mother and father kissing. He didn't understand why his older brother and his friend looked at each other in such a way. He was only four after all.

"We should get going before our parents find us," the girl suggested.

"Yes! To the forest!" the older boy shouted.

The two boys had planned it all out. They were going to run away and take their friend with them. The older boy had been talking to some muggle children who had told him about Neverland where children never grew up. He thought that if they got far enough than they would find Neverland.

"It's hot," the girl complained after a moment. "I don't want to go any farther."

"Come on, we're almost to the forest," the older boy encouraged her.

"Yeah, just think about all the adventures that await us!" the younger boy told her.

"I don't know if we should be doing this," she sighed. "Mummy and Daddy wouldn't approve."

"Who cares what Mummy and Daddy approve of?" the older boy mocked.

"Maybe she's right," the younger boy relented.

"Fine, be a bunch of cowards," the older boy pouted before stalking off.

"I'll talk to him," the girl said as she saw the younger boy's eyes fill with tears. "Stay here."

"Hey, you buffoon! Slow down!" the girl called after the older boy.

He stopped with his arms crossed over his chest. "You didn't have to be so cruel," she told him when she reached him.

"Whatever."

"Why are you so mad?"

"Because you wanted to come on this adventure now you're backing out."

"I never said that. I just said that Mummy and Daddy wouldn't approve of it."

"If you don't want to go just say so."

"I want to. With you and him."

The older boys smiled at her. "With me?"

He took a step toward her.

"With both of you."

She took a step away from him playfully before he started to chase her. The younger boy watched as his sibling and his friend played. She had calmed him down, but that didn't matter. He wanted to be the one she looked up to. Not his brother. Sighing he stood up and waited for them to stop playing.

"Marlene! Marlene!" a woman's voice called from the house that stood nearby.

"I have to go," the girl explained as she stopped running. "My mother wants me."

"But what about running away?" the older boy asked.

"Next time. We can't tell anyone about it though," the girl whispered.

"Alright," he replied nodding his head.

The pair started to run to the house hand in hand while the younger boy followed them.

A woman waited for them. Her blonde hair was tied up in a bun on top of her head. Her face which had once been youthful now had frown lines. The beauty was still there though. She watched as the children came running toward her. She thought of when she was young and had played with the children her age.

"Did you have fun with Sirius and Regulus?" she asked the girl.

"Yes, Mother, I did," the girl replied.

"That's good," the woman told her daughter. "Now you must tell them good-bye until the next time our families meet."

"Can't they spend the night like last time?" she asked innocently.

The woman chuckled. "I'm afraid not. Their mother wants them home."

"Alright," the little girl sniffed.

She turned to the boys, tears in her eyes. "Bye, Sirius. Bye, Regulus," Marlene said quietly.

"Bye, Marlene," Sirius and Regulus chorused.

Little did Marlene know that her contact with the Black boys would be cut off until her first year of Hogwarts. By then she had forgotten the boys she had played with when she was six years old. Now in her seventh year the two men with cause a rift in her life that even she didn't see coming.


	2. Chapter 1

_**Chapter 1** _

Marlene stood in the meadow next to her house. She looked out over the field that she used to play in as a girl. Her long hair blew in the breeze as her crystal blue eyes searched the field for any sign of movement, even though she knew there wouldn't be any. The animals seemed to stay away from her house for some reason. She didn't understand why as a child, but later she learned it was because her house had protective enchantments around it.

"Marlene! Marlene, come along, we have company!" her mother's voice sounded over the silence.

Marlene sighed. Her mother was trying set up her up with another suitor. Mrs. McKinnon would never force her daughter to get married to someone she didn't like, but she was starting to get desperate. Marlene had sent back every pureblood boy who Mrs. McKinnon had found. Every boy that her mother had sent her was always very rude. They all tried to reach over and touch her in inappropriate places. She never let them of course. Her mother had trained her to wait until marriage.

She picked up her dress and started to run back to the house. Now she wished she hadn't left her hair down. It was getting in her face and the wind blowing at her back wasn't helping anything.

"Coming, Mum!" Marlene called. She ran faster, almost tripping a couple of times. When she reached the porch she saw three people standing there. A woman with black hair pinned on top of her head stood stall. Her face would have been beautiful if it wasn't in a pinched sour expression.

The man who stood next to her was smirking. His short black hair stood up in spikes. His cold gray eyes raked over her body as if Marlene were a feast. He was short, shorter than his wife.

The boy who stood in front of them looked rather grim like he didn't want to be there. He was rubbing his shoe on the porch. He was tall for his age. When his gray eyes looked into Marlene's blue ones, she thought she saw a spark there. His hair was short, but not as short as his father's. He had a handsome face, but he was rather skinny and slim.

"Marlene, this is Regulus Black," her mother told her. "He came to pay you a visit while his mother and I talk over things."

"Of course, Mother," Marlene answered. That was code for 'I know he's a pureblood who is looking for a wife and I will see if I like him'.

Marlene had heard of the Blacks, of course. Her meetings with the Blacks were few and in between. She had meant Bellatrix once when she was seven. Bellatrix had been fifteen at the time. Even at that age she was cruel. She had pushed Marlene down the stairs for not moving out of her way fast enough then claimed it was accident.

Andromeda was a bit nicer. She was eight when Andromeda came over to her house. She seemed like a pleasant person. Quiet though. She was kind and talked a little with Marlene, but never went out of her way to get to know her. Out of all the Black sisters, Andromeda was Marlene's favorite.

The youngest Black sister was rather annoying. When Marlene was ten she had meant Narcissa. All she did was talk about herself. She wouldn't shut up. Marlene had found it rather annoying.

"Marlene, why don't you show Regulus around?" Mrs. McKinnon suggested.

"Alright," Marlene smiled slightly at Regulus before he followed her outside.

"I think it's stuffy inside," Marlene stated, trying to make conversation.

"Indeed."

At this point, Marlene would have expected him to try something. He didn't even look at her.

"Do you not think I'm pretty?" she asked out of curiosity.

Regulus looked at her startled. "Well. . . .um. . .I think you're very pretty."

"Most boys try something by this time," Marlene told him.

"I'm not like other boys," Regulus smirked.

His smirked reminded Marlene of Sirius, his brother. Marlene and Sirius were in the same house at Hogwarts, but that's about all she knew about him. Her best friend, Lily Evans, hated James Potter so Marlene choose to stay away from them and Sirius never showed in any interest in her. They had been assigned to work together for a Potions class once, and he hadn't said one word to her. Actually he seemed rather nervous around her. Marlene also knew that Sirius could have any girl he wanted. One look from that handsome face of his and any girl's heart melted. However his relationships had been few and in between. He preferred to spend time with his friends, the Marauders, than with girls.

"Obviously," Marlene returned his smirk with one of her own. "Come on, I want to show you something."

"What?" Regulus asked wearily.

"Come on," Marlene grabbed his hand and pulled him along with her. She took him out behind her house and into the forest. Marlene had always loved the forest. She had played her as a girl and whenever her parents had gotten into a fight she would come here. It was her safe haven.

They reached a fallen log and Marlene let go of Regulus' hand. She hopped on it and started to walk on it.

"What are you doing?" Regulus asked shifting from foot to foot. "That's not safe."

"Please, I do this all the time," Marlene told him.

"Why did you bring me here?" Regulus asked. His eyes narrowed in on her.

"Because I thought you might want to get away from everything," Marlene answered. "You don't actually like being set up, do you?"

"No," Regulus replied, bluntly.

"You don't talk very much," Marlene stated.

"You're naïve," Regulus shot back.

Marlene glared at him. "Why are you so unpleasant? Most people would be thrilled to have my attention."

Regulus snorted. "I'm unpleasant because you think you're all that. If any man has your attention then you think that he's the luckiest person in the world. You may have everybody fooled with that sweet little virgin act, but not me."

"First of all I am a virgin," Marlene flared. "I do _not_ think that! You're insane! Besides how much experience do you have?"

Regulus blushed and looked down. "None."

Marlene suddenly felt bad. He was younger than her. She was supposed to be mature.

"I'm sorry," Marlene apologized. "I shouldn't have said that. Can we agree to be friends? You're the most descent boy I've meet thus far. Plus my mother probably wouldn't like it if I turned down another marriage."

"Alright," Regulus agreed looking up. "Friends."

Marlene smiled. "Alright. So tell me something about yourself."

She sat down on the log she had been walking on. As soon as she sat down, she patted the spot next to her. Regulus slowly made his way over and sat down.

"I don't hate my brother," was the first thing out of his mouth.

"Beg pardon?"

"I don't hate my brother," he repeated. "I don't why. I should. He doesn't care about me. I don't know if he ever has, but no matter how hard I try, I can't hate him."

"Why'd you tell me that?" Marlene asked. He'd barely known her for ten seconds.

"You seem like someone who can keep a secret," Regulus explained. "I've been carrying that around with me for so long that I had to tell someone. Even if I just meant you."

"Ok, well, my parents used to fight all the time when I was a little girl," Marlene told him. "They don't do it much any more, but I used to come up here when they did fight. It was the quiet and peaceful. I sorta wanted to live in the forest at one point."

Regulus smiled. He was about to say something when a voice rang out, "Marlene! Marlene, where are you?!"

Marlene sighed. "We better get back."

Regulus nodded.

Marlene stood and brushed herself off. She made her way back to the house with Regulus in tow.

"There you are," Mrs. McKinnon said giving her a stern look. "Regulus has to leave."

Marlene nodded. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye," Regulus manged with a small smile.

Mrs. Black turned and walked out with her husband and Regulus following.

"Well, what did you think about him?" Mrs. McKinnon asked excited.

"I liked him," Marlene told her as she stared at the place where they walked out the door.

"Good, I'll arrange the marriage right away."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like it! Let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Marlene boarded the train and found an empty compartment rather quickly. After putting her truck away, she sat down and looked out the window. Lily would be in the Prefect's compartment. Alice would probably be with Frank. That left Mary, and Dorcas. Mary would most likely sit with Emmeline Vance, Marlene's swore enemy, and if the latter hadn't acquired a boyfriend, she should be here soon.

Her thoughts drifted to Regulus. Should she go down and talk to him? She didn't know if she would be welcome down with the Slytherins. She sighed and looked out the window. Her friends would be here soon enough.

The compartment door slid open and Sirius Black stood before her. His hair was longer than the last time she'd seen him. It feel elegantly into his face. He had grown too. She guessed he was about six feet tall, but she could be wrong. His gray eyes pierced into her blue ones, like a lion watching its prey.

"Can I help you?" Marlene asked confused.

"Yes, you can," he answered before sliding into the compartment and sitting across from her. "Is it true that you're engaged to my brother?"

He reclined back and put his feet up next to her. Marlene looked at his feet and back at him. She continued to do this until he rolled his eyes and sat his feet on the floor.

"Thank you, and why do you want to know?" Marlene eyed him cautiously. She didn't think Regulus and Sirius spoke anymore. That was the only way she could think of that Sirius found out about her and Regulus.

"Just answer the question," he snapped.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Marlene retorted.

"Please?" the sarcasm was evident in his voice.

"You know it doesn't help if you're not sincere," Marlene told him.

Sirius snorted. "You're marrying a Death Eater and you want me to be sincere."

"He's not a Death Eater!"

"He might as well be!"

"What do you even want?!" Marlene was exasperated. He barely spoke two words to her in the past six years and now he wanted to dictate her life?! Well, he had another thing coming.

"I came to warn you," Sirius told her, regaining his composer. "If you really are friends with Lily and Mary then you'll drop Regulus right now."

"Look, I don't need you, of all people, telling me how to run my life," Marlene stated. "I can do that myself thanks. Besides what makes you think you have the right to come in here and tell me what to do? I have been making my own decisions for the past six years and I will continue to make them on my own."

"I wasn't trying to tell you want to do," Sirius rolled his eyes. "I was trying to save you from making the biggest mistake of your life."

"Says the boy who sneaks out of school every night," Marlene retorted.

Before he could say anything else, the compartment door swung open again and this time Lily appeared. Her red hair was as long as ever. Her almond shaped green eyes scanned the room stopping on Sirius. She was pissed off.

"What are you doing here?" she snapped, her eyes narrowing.

Sirius glanced at Marlene before standing. "Nothing, Evans." He brushed past her and went back down the hall.

"What was that about?" Lily asked annoyed. She reached down and gave Marlene a quick hug.

"Nothing," Marlene replied. "Are you ok?"

"No!" Lily flared. "He got Head Boy! I mean it's. . . .him."

"Who's him?" Marlene asked curious. Whoever it was must have gotten under Lily's skin.

"Potter!" Lily growled. "I can't stand him! Then he has to go off and get Head Boy! I mean really? What was Dumbledore thinking?! I mean it's Potter! He couldn't manage to run a daycare if the intrusions were laid out in front of him! You know, he's not even going to try and be a proper Head Boy, he's just going to use this time to flirt with me and try to get me to go out on a date with him! It's exhausting really."

Marlene smiled. James Potter had been obsessing over Lily since first year. Marlene always thought it was cute, but Lily found it annoying.

"Wipe that smile off your face," Lily glared. "I don't need this. Really I don't. How am I supposed to focus on N.E.W.T.s and my head duties if I have to worry about him too."

"I'm sure you'll manage," Marlene wasn't going to sympathize with Lily. She thought Lily over reacted sometimes. "Besides maybe he won't be that bad."

Lily snorted. "I highly doubt that."

The compartment door slid open for the third time that day to reveal two girls. The first was a few inches shorter than the other. Her long brown hair fell in ruffles behind her back. She flicked her bangs out of her bright blue eyes. Dorcas hadn't changed much since Marlene had seen her.

Alice, on the other hand, had. Her hair now reached her cheeks. It used to be so long. Marlene liked it much better this way. It brought out her brown eyes. She smiled at the other girls causing her dimples to come out. Yes, Alice Prewett was a very pretty girl.

"Ally! Dorky!" Marlene exclaimed jumping up. She hugged both girls tightly. They were, after all, in a better mood than Lily.

"Hey," Lily mumbled giving each of them a brief hug before sitting back down to pout.

"Is that any way to greet a friend you haven't seen for two months?" Alice asked playfully.

"Sorry, but I'm really not in the mood," Lily told her.

"James is Head Boy," Marlene explained.

"James as in James Potter?" Dorcas asked astonished.

"Yes," Marlene smiled looking over at Lily.

"Don't give me that look," Lily barked. "I know what you're thinking. Nothing is going to happen. At all. Goodby. End of story. Oh no, wait something will happen, I'll probably knee him before the year is up!"

"She's really pissed isn't she?" Alice whispered amused.

"Yeah," Marlene nodded.

"I am going to murder someone before this train ride is over," Lily ranted. "I mean really James of all people?!"

All three girls stared at her opened mouthed.

"What?" Lily asked.

"You called him 'James'," Dorcas stated flatly.

"No, no, no!" Lily shouted. "This can not be happening! I'm dreaming! Yes, that's it! I'm dreaming and when I wake up this will all go away."

"I think his charms worked on her," Alice smirked.

"Shut up, Alice!"

Alice raised her hands in defense. Lily glared at her before pulling at her hair. Marlene knew Lily was overreacting now, but that was just Lily for you. She over analyzed things all the time. Sometimes it was a good thing, sometimes it was a bad thing. Marlene had gotten used to it so she didn't pay to much attention to it. However, some people passing by seemed a bit disturbed by it.

"Lils, he can't be that bad all the time," Dorcas rationalized. "Besides if he is, then just tell us and we'll take care of it for you."

Alice snorted. "If he tries anything, then we'll do more than just take care of him. We'll castrate him for you."

This caused Lily to smile.

"So if he tries anything at all?" Lily asked tentatively.

"Yep," Alice replied. "I promise."

"I'm acting like a drama queen," Lily mumbled. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Alice told her. "We're used to it."

Lily hit her arm playfully. "What did you guys do over the summer anyway?"

"Nothing much," Dorcas was the first to answer. "I pretty much spent it at home."

"Same here," Alice smiled. "Except I went to the World Quidditch Cup! It was amazing! I would have invited you guys, but my dad couldn't get that many tickets."

"Come on, Lils," Marlene encouraged. "Your turn."

"What about you?" Lily asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's alright go ahead."

"Ok, well, I meant this guy," Lily told them blushing. "His name was Matthew. He was really sweet. Well, anyways, he moved in next door. Petunia and I got in a really huge fight about him, but I'm getting ahead of myself. So Mum and Dad told us that some knew people moved in next door. So we had to invite them over for dinner, right? Mum and Dad like to get to know the people who live around us. Petunia didn't want to answer the door so I had to. The sight I was greeted with. He was six foot three with blonde hair and oh those blue eyes. I mean he was gorgeous. Anyways, so I let them in after making an utter fool of myself. So later we had to entertain Matt and Petunia keeps trying to flirt with him, but he just sort of let her down easy. Well, Petunia went into because it was her turn to do the dishes and Matt and I decide to go for a walk around the block. We walked and talked like we'd known each other forever. So when we got back to the house, he leaned in ever so slightly and kissed me. It wasn't not very long, but that's what was so sweet about it. Petunia must have seen us have seen us through the window because when they left I went up to my room and she was there waiting. She accused me of trying to steal him away from her and how I was the most horrible person in the world. She also accused me of being a freak and putting a spell on him to make him like me. After all of that, she stormed out of my room. I didn't know what to do so I just stood there for a moment before I started to cry. I mean I knew she disliked me, but I just couldn't take her crap anymore. I let it all out right then. I didn't want her to stay mad at me so I was going to tell Matt that I couldn't be with him. I explained the situation to him and he was so understanding. It lasted until July 16th. Matt and I had gone down to the park and we were talking when he reached over and kissed me. Of course, I kissed him back. I mean who wouldn't? He told me that he wanted to be with me and that it didn't matter what anyone else thought. At this point, I was like 'Oh sweet Merlin, please don't let me be hallucinating'. We spent the rest of the summer together, but he went back to his boarding school before I went back to Hogwarts. We agreed that it was best if we were just friends after that."

"Wow, Lily, that is so sweet!" Dorcas exclaimed.

"Even I have to admit that sounds wonderful," Alice looked like she was in awe.

"Lily, he sounds really nice," Marlene smiled.

"Now, Mars, come on tell us about your summer," Lily turned to Marlene.

Marlene didn't want to tell the other girls about her engagement to Regulus. She didn't know if they would like it.

"Well, you know how my mum wants me to marry a pureblood right?" Marlene started from the beginning. "Well, I'm engaged to Regulus Black."

Marlene waited for the yelling to start. All her friends could do was stare at her.

"What?"

"You're joking right?" Alice looked like she was going to be sick.

"No," Marlene replied hanging her head. She felt awful. She knew her friends would hate her now.

"Oh, Mars, I'm so sorry," Lily moved to sit next to her. "We'll figure a way out of this. I promise."

"He's not that bad," Marlene mumbled.

"What?" Alice nearly yelled. "You've got to be joking? He's pretty much a Death Eater!"

"He is not!" Marlene shouted. "Please, I don't want to talk about it. Can we just drop it?"

Suddenly the train lurched and they came to stop.

"We'll talk about this later," Alice said sternly.

At least, it was put off for now. Marlene smiled as she saw the castle she knew to be home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Hope you liked it! So what did you think of Sirius? Do you like Regulus or Sirius better? Review and let me know!


	4. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 4** _

Marlene walked to the carriages quietly. Her friends were walking slightly ahead of her. She didn't want to be interrogated by them. She knew as soon as she got inside that carriage that's what they were going to do. There was no avoiding the inevitable. She climbed into the carriage; her friends sat waiting.

Alice raised her eyebrows waiting for an answer.

Marlene sighed and spoke softly, "I didn't mean for it to happen. I just didn't think that I would find anyone better. I mean, at least he's a gentlemen. Come on, who else would want me?"

"Marlene, are you kidding me?!" Lily exclaimed. "You're gorgeous! Any boy who doesn't want you is crazy!"

"What about James Potter?"

"Like I said crazy."

This made everyone laugh.

"Look, Mars, if you're only choosing him because you think no one else will want you then you've got another thing coming," Alice told her. "You're anything, but ugly. Every bloke in the whole school has to at least think you're pretty."

Before Marlene could say anything, the carriage door swung open to reveal Mary McDonald and Emmeline Vance.

"Hey, girls," Mary greeted them.

Emmeline merely nodded.

Alice was fuming. Marlene could tell she was about to explode. Alice didn't like Emmeline any better than Marlene did. They both thought she was fake and trashy. The brown haired, blue eyed girl was always looking for a reason to start a fight. Marlene knew she always had a hidden agenda. Whatever reason she was in here, it wasn't good.

"Who said you could sit in here?" Alice snapped.

"Mary," Emmeline answered simply.

Alice glared at her as the carriage started to roll. Emmeline just rolled her eyes and turned to Marlene.

"So you're engaged to Regulus Black?" Emmeline asked politely. There was the agenda. "How did you get him? Sleep around so he would like you?"

"Shut it!" Alice roared. "You know she's a virgin! You're just jealous that you could never be that! Boys throw themselves at her feet and she doesn't even have to bat an eyelash unlike you!"

It grew quiet after that. Everyone knew better than to pick a fight with Alice Prewett. When she was mad you better back off and back off fast or else. She once cursed someone for just saying 'hello' when she was in a bad mood.

Lily smiled over at Marlene. Now she knew why Marlene hated Emmeline. She hadn't always agreed with her about Emmeline. Lily thought you should give everyone a chance. Unfortunately that included Emmeline as well.

The Gryffindor in question was now looking out the window rather bored. She whispered something to Mary who giggled lightly causing Alice to glare at her.

"Just drop it," Marlene whispered to Alice. She narrowed her eyes at them before turning to Dorcas.

It had always been this way. Everyone in there group had someone they told everything to. For Marlene that was Alice and Lily. Although she and Alice spent more time together, Lily gave better advice than anyone else Marlene knew. Lily always went to Dorcas, who was just as level minded as she was. Alice always came to Marlene even if her advice wasn't the best. Dorcas ran straight to Lily. Mary unfortunately went to Emmeline.

Marlene didn't understand why she wanted to go to someone so stupid. Emmeline was mean and thoughtless. She didn't care about other people's feelings, all she cared about was getting what she wanted. She would cry, whine, and fight until she got what she wanted.

The carriage lurched to a stop and Marlene breathed a sigh of relief. She climbed out of the carriage after Alice. She couldn't wait to get away from Emmeline. Alice, Marlene, Dorcas, and Lily made their way up to the castle while Mary and Emmeline lagged behind whispering to each other.

"Now to prove my earlier point that you can have any guy want," Alice said as soon as they were out of earshot. She turned to a handsome Ravenclaw Prefect. "Sorry to bother you, but do you think Marlene here is pretty?"

That was Alice for you. She wasn't afraid to walk up to a complete stranger and ask if they liked one of her friends. She was the sassiest of the five of the girls. Also she was a flirt; even if she had a boyfriend she would still flirt. Loyalty was one of her best qualities; if you made an enemy of Alice you could be sure that she would remain your enemy forever, the same went for a friend.

"She's gorgeous," the boy answered. "Why is she looking for someone?"

"I'm sorry she's mentally unstable," Marlene told him smiling, then hissed to Alice, "Move."

Lily broke down laughing as soon as they were far enough away. "I can't believe you did that."

"Neither can I!" Marlene shouted.

"I told you people think you're pretty," Alice stated simply.

Marlene glared at her.

"That was a good one, Alice," Lily told her pushing a tear away.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Ms. McKinnon," a voice jeered from behind them.

The four girls turned to see Evan Rosier, Julian Mulciber, Bruno Avery, and Severus Snape. Rosier smirked at the girls eying them. His short black hair fell across his forehead and into his dark eyes. A stubble ran along his strong jaw line. He was by far the tallest of all of them.

Mulciber was eying them as well, but with disgust instead of lust. Short brown hair complemented a short stocky body and a small chubby face. The look on his face suggested that he was disgusted by them and hated the lot of them.

Avery looked on amused. His light blue eyes laughed silently at them. His broad figure seemed to taunt them saying 'you can run, but you can't hide'. His blonde hair reached his shoulders in the back, but was short in the front.

Snape looked hatefully at them. His dark eyes narrowed. He looked stringy and pallid. He frowned down at them with his hook nose sticking out on his thin face. His eyes looked to Lily for a moment before looking quickly away. Marlene rolled her eyes at this.

"What do you want, Rosier?" Marlene asked impatiently.

"I see you've finally come to your senses," he smirked. "Dropping the Mudbloods and Blood-traitors for purebloods. I guess Reg knows what he's doing."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Marlene stated confused. "I'm still friends with Lily and Mary. I'm not giving up my friends so shove off."

"You will when you marry Regulus," Avery spat, "or else you'll have to face the consequences."

"Who's going to make her do that? You?" Alice bickered. "That's a laugh."

"Don't back talk me, Prewett," Rosier snapped.

"Maybe if you hadn't opened your big fat mouth she wouldn't have to," a voice sounded from behind them.

There stood the Marauders in all their glory. They were all glaring at the band of Slytherins, even little Peter. James looked dangerous. His handsome face was set in a glare that matched even Alice's.

"Oh, look it's Potter," Rosier taunted. "What are you going to do baby Potter?"

"Put you in detention for a start," James told him calmly. "Didn't you hear? I'm Head Boy."

Rosier and his crew glared at James. "Someday you won't have Potter and then-"

"I'll kick your arse," Alice interrupted him.

Rosier glared at them one last time before turning and walking away, the rest of the Slytherins following him.

"Evans," James nodded.

Lily rolled her eyes and started back up to the castle.

"Lily!" Dorcas called running after her.

Alice eyed James for a moment smirking. "Potter."

"Prewett," James answered, smirking as well. She turned and started for the castle as well.

"Since you're my Quidditch captain I thought I should give you fair warning," Marlene began.

"Fair warning of what?" James asked raising an eyebrow.

"Alice said she would castrate you if you tried anything with Lily," Marlene told him plainly.

James' face drained of all color. The other three Marauders all burst out laughing. Marlene bit her lip, trying not to laugh as well. He did have a right to know.

"Just thought you should know," Marlene smiled before patting him on the shoulder and turning to walk up to the castle.

She quickly caught up with Alice and the others.

"What took you so long?" Dorcas asked.

"I was talking to James," Marlene told them.

"What'd Potter what?" Lily asked.

"Nothing," Marlene smiled.

Alice gave her a skeptical look, but said nothing while Lily just shrugged. The four girls made their way happily up to the castle, chatting about just about everything. Marlene noticed Regulus out of the corner of her eye. He was talking to Snape quietly. They seemed to be in a serious discussion about something or another. Marlene made a mental note to ask him later.

Suddenly Marlene's head collided with something solid and she fell backwards. She thought she was going to land gracefully on her butt when strong arms wrapped around her.

"If you wanted me this much, McKinnon, all you had to do was say so," a husky voice whispered in her ear.

Marlene groaned. Sirius Black was not what she wanted to deal with right now. Marlene closed her eyes.

"Marlene, are you ok?!" Lily's panicked voiced echoed from nearby.

"Marlene, really? A wall?" Alice laughed.

"Marlene, don't go to sleep," Dorcas told her. "You can't go to sleep; you might not wake up."

"Merlin, that bump is big," James muttered. "You should really watch where you're going, McKinnon."

"Marlene, can you hear me?" Lily questioned.

"Yes!" Marlene snapped, her eyes flying open. "I can hear all of you. I'm fine. Alice, this is not funny. Dorcas, I know that I'm not supposed to go to sleep. James, thank you for letting me know I'll have a huge bump on my head for the first day of school."

"What about me? Don't I get a thank you for catching you?" Marlene know noticed, for the first time, that Sirius' arms were still around her. She glared up at him.

"No," she replied before pushing away from him. The moment she did the world started to spin. She fell right back against Sirius. All of a sudden, she felt eyes on her. She looked up to see Regulus' hurt face. No, no, no! It wasn't what it looked like! Before she could even call to him he disappeared inside the castle.

"Mars, you need to go to the Hospital Wing," Lily whispered as not to anger her.

"No, I'll be fine," Marlene muttered.

"I could always carry you to the Great Hall," Sirius suggested.

Lily sent a glare his way. "Come on, Marls, let me take you to the Hospital Wing."

"No, I just need to rest here for a minute," Marlene breathed.

"Marlene, I'm serious," Lily said firmly.

"Hate to break it to you, love, but I'm right here."

"Sirius, that got old first year," Remus told him. Marlene felt him shrug.

"Just put a Cooling Charm on my forehead and I'll be fine," Marlene proposed.

Lily looked at Alice and Dorcas. Alice just shrugged while Dorcas raised her eyebrows. Lily pulled out her wand.

"If you feel funny at all, tell me right away," Lily muttered before casting the charm.

Marlene instantly felt better. Her head stopped spinning. She didn't feel any pain.

"Alright, Blondie?" Sirius asked as she stood up.

"I'm fine and don't call me that!" Marlene growled.

"Marlene, you still need to go to Madam Pomfrey," Lily begged. "She could take the swelling down."

"If it will make you shut up, fine," Marlene agreed. She rolled her eyes and started for the Hospital Wing.

She knew her friends were just trying to look out for her, but really when she said she was fine, she was fine. Why couldn't they believe her? She knew they were following her right now so she spend up. Right now, she really didn't want to talk to them. Her feet moved faster until she was practically jogging. Suddenly she felt a presence at her side.

"You alright, McKinnon?" Sirius asked quietly, looking down at her concerned.

"I'm fine," she bit out. Was he really going to act like he didn't try to run her life a few hours earlier? She was thoroughly pissed at him. "Why are you here? Why did Alice and Lily even let you talk to me?"

"I have longer legs than them," Sirius replied cheekily. "Besides Lily was busy yelling at James for something or another and Alice was watching that. I thought you might want someone to keep you company."

"Well, I don't so go away," Marlene told him.

"I see you're still mad about earlier."

"He got it right, well let's give him a medal!"

"Look, McKinnon, I know you don't believe, but Regulus is bad news. He isn't the kind to play around with. You need to stay away from him or else you might find yourself in situations you don't want to be in."

"Oh, yeah? Like what?"

"Like, oh, I don't know, him asking you to be a Death Eater."

"He's not like that," Marlene snapped. "He's kind, even if you don't want to believe it. Besides someone that sensitive wouldn't do something like that. Maybe your parents might try to make him, but he won't do it in the end."

"Trust me, that's where you're wrong," Sirius grabbed her arm and stopped her, "and they're not my parents. He will do whatever they ask him. No matter what, he's always wanted to please them. Aside from that, he's had Bellatrix as his teacher. She has him well rounded, I know."

"You don't know anything," Marlene hissed, yanking her arm away. "I can take care of myself. I don't need your help. I know him. I don't need you running my life for me either."

"Like I said I wasn't trying to run your life, I was trying to give you a piece of advice," he told her.

Marlene rolled her eyes and continued walking. The rest of the trip continued in silence. Marlene didn't say anything and Sirius didn't try to small take, which she was thankful for. Maybe if she just stayed quiet he would take the tint and leave. Of course, he didn't he stayed by her side until she reached the Hospital Wing. He was loyal, she would give him that.

When they reached the Hospital Wing, he went and got Madam Pomfrey for her. As she looked Marlene over, Sirius leaned against the wall waiting for her to get done. She couldn't help, but wonder why he was still there. He had no reason to be. If he wanted to know how she was later, then he could just ask one of her friends and that would be that. But no, he had to stay here and wait for her.

"Alright, you seem to be alright," Madam Pomfrey perceived. "You just hit your head. I gave a potion for the swelling and dizziness. Other than that you should be free to go."

"Thank you," Marlene muttered before standing up and walking out of the Hospital Wing. She made her way down to the Great Hall, trying to get away from Sirius. Unfortunately his legs were longer than hers so he caught up with her rather quickly.

"Trying to escape, McKinnon?"

Marlene rolled her eyes and continued to the Great Hall. She made it there in record time and went to sit with her friends. As soon as she reached them, she knew something was wrong. Lily sat with her face in her hands. Dorcas was patting her back and had one arm around her shoulders. Alice sat next to her looking like she was going to murder someone. Sirius had moved off to his friends as soon as they reached the Great Hall, thank Merlin. Now she could deal with this mess without having to worry about him watching her every move.

"What happened?" Marlene asked.

"James," Alice told her then quietly, "Lily kind of deserved it."

Marlene nodded knowing Alice would tell her later.

"Lils, are you ok?" Marlene inquired tentatively.

Lily's reply was to sob. "Oh, Lily," Marlene sighed. "It's ok. Whatever he said I'm sure it wasn't true."

"I'm a horrible person," Lily sobbed before she got up and ran out of the Great Hall with Dorcas following her.

"So what happened?" Marlene asked turning to Alice.

"Well, Lily got mad at James for some stupid reason," Alice began. "You know how she is. Anyways, I guess James just got fed up with her. He went on this whole rant about how all he did was try to impress her and she wouldn't give him the time of day. She called him a prick and he said she was a self-centered brat, who only thought about herself. He also said that she didn't care about other people's feelings, that the only thing she cared about was herself, and that she was no better than Snape. I would have kneed him, but he stormed off before I could."

"Wow," Marlene mumbled. All in all her first day back to Hogwarts was not the best. First she and Sirius went at and she didn't even know why he bothered with her when he hadn't even spoken to her for six years. Then she had to tell her friends about Regulus. Now Lily was hurt and it was all thanks to James. Not to mention she walked straight into a wall. Yep, it was shaping up to be a great year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Hope you like this chapter! I don't know about James in this chapter, but I like that he stood up to Lily. Tell me what you think and review!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No one can return to school without a little bit of trouble.

Marlene walked to the carriages quietly. Her friends were walking slightly ahead of her. She didn't want to be interrogated by them. She knew as soon as she got inside that carriage that was what they were going to do. There was no avoiding the inevitable. She climbed into the carriage; her friends sat waiting.

Alice raised her eyebrows waiting for an answer.

Marlene sighed and spoke softly, "I didn't mean for it to happen. I just didn't think that I would find anyone better. I mean, at least he's a gentlemen. Come on, who else would want me?"

"Marlene, are you kidding me?!" Lily exclaimed. "You're gorgeous! Any boy who doesn't want you is crazy!"

"What about James Potter?"

"Like I said crazy."

This made everyone laugh.

"Look, Mars, if you're only choosing him because you think no one else will want you then you've got another thing coming," Alice told her. "You're anything, but ugly. Every bloke in the whole school has to at least think you're pretty."

Before Marlene could say anything, the carriage door swung open to reveal Mary McDonald and Emmeline Vance.

"Hey, girls," Mary greeted them.

Emmeline merely nodded.

Alice was fuming. Marlene could tell she was about to explode. Alice didn't like Emmeline any better than Marlene did. They both thought she was fake and trashy. The brown haired, blue eyed girl was always looking for a reason to start a fight. Marlene knew she always had a hidden agenda. Whatever reason she was in here, it wasn't good.

"Who said you could sit in here?" Alice snapped.

"Mary," Emmeline answered simply.

Alice glared at her as the carriage started to roll. Emmeline just rolled her eyes and turned to Marlene.

"So you're engaged to Regulus Black?" Emmeline asked politely. There was the agenda. "How did you get him? Sleep around so he would like you?"

"Shut it!" Alice roared. "You know she's a virgin! You're just jealous that you could never be that! Boys throw themselves at her feet and she doesn't even have to bat an eyelash unlike you!"

It grew quiet after that. Everyone knew better than to pick a fight with Alice Prewett. When she was mad you better back off and back off fast or else. She once cursed someone for just saying 'hello' when she was in a bad mood.

Lily smiled over at Marlene. Now she knew why Marlene hated Emmeline. She hadn't always agreed with her about Emmeline. Lily thought you should give everyone a chance. Unfortunately that included Emmeline as well.

The Gryffindor in question was now looking out the window rather bored. She whispered something to Mary who giggled lightly causing Alice to glare at her.

"Just drop it," Marlene whispered to Alice. She narrowed her eyes at them before turning to Dorcas.

It had always been this way. Everyone in there group had someone they told everything to. For Marlene that was Alice and Lily. Although she and Alice spent more time together, Lily gave better advice than anyone else Marlene knew. Lily always went to Dorcas, who was just as level minded as she was. Alice always came to Marlene even if her advice wasn't the best. Dorcas ran straight to Lily. Mary unfortunately went to Emmeline.

Marlene didn't understand why she wanted to go to someone so stupid. Emmeline was mean and thoughtless. She didn't care about other people's feelings, all she cared about was getting what she wanted. She would cry, whine, and fight until she got what she wanted.

The carriage lurched to a stop and Marlene breathed a sigh of relief. She climbed out of the carriage after Alice. She couldn't wait to get away from Emmeline. Alice, Marlene, Dorcas, and Lily made their way up to the castle while Mary and Emmeline lagged behind whispering to each other.

"Now to prove my earlier point that you can have any guy want," Alice said as soon as they were out of earshot. She turned to a handsome Ravenclaw Prefect. "Sorry to bother you, but do you think Marlene here is pretty?"

That was Alice for you. She wasn't afraid to walk up to a complete stranger and ask if they liked one of her friends. She was the sassiest of the five of the girls. Also she was a flirt; even if she had a boyfriend she would still flirt. Loyalty was one of her best qualities; if you made an enemy of Alice you could be sure that she would remain your enemy forever, the same went for a friend.

"She's gorgeous," the boy answered. "Why is she looking for someone?"

"I'm sorry she's mentally unstable," Marlene told him smiling, then hissed to Alice, "Move."

Lily broke down laughing as soon as they were far enough away. "I can't believe you did that."

"Neither can I!" Marlene shouted.

"I told you people think you're pretty," Alice stated simply.

Marlene glared at her.

"That was a good one, Alice," Lily told her pushing a tear away.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Ms. McKinnon," a voice jeered from behind them.

The four girls turned to see Evan Rosier, Julian Mulciber, Bruno Avery, and Severus Snape. Rosier smirked at the girls eying them. His short black hair fell across his forehead and into his dark eyes. A stubble ran along his strong jaw line. He was by far the tallest of all of them.

Mulciber was eying them as well, but with disgust instead of lust. Short brown hair complemented a short stocky body and a small chubby face. The look on his face suggested that he was disgusted by them and hated the lot of them.

Avery looked on amused. His light blue eyes laughed silently at them. His broad figure seemed to taunt them saying 'you can run, but you can't hide'. His blonde hair reached his shoulders in the back, but was short in the front.

Snape looked hatefully at them. His dark eyes narrowed. He looked stringy and pallid. He frowned down at them with his hook nose sticking out on his thin face. His eyes looked to Lily for a moment before looking quickly away. Marlene rolled her eyes at this.

"What do you want, Rosier?" Marlene asked impatiently.

"I see you've finally come to your senses," he smirked. "Dropping the Mudbloods and Blood-traitors for purebloods. I guess Reg knows what he's doing."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Marlene stated confused. "I'm still friends with Lily and Mary. I'm not giving up my friends so shove off."

"You will when you marry Regulus," Avery spat, "or else you'll have to face the consequences."

"Who's going to make her do that? You?" Alice bickered. "That's a laugh."

"Don't back talk me, Prewett," Rosier snapped.

"Maybe if you hadn't opened your big fat mouth she wouldn't have to," a voice sounded from behind them.

There stood the Marauders in all their glory. They were all glaring at the band of Slytherins, even little Peter. James looked dangerous. His handsome face was set in a glare that matched even Alice's.

"Oh, look it's Potter," Rosier taunted. "What are you going to do baby Potter?"

"Put you in detention for a start," James told him calmly. "Didn't you hear? I'm Head Boy."

Rosier and his crew glared at James. "Someday you won't have Potter and then-"

"I'll kick your arse," Alice interrupted him.

Rosier glared at them one last time before turning and walking away, the rest of the Slytherins following him.

"Evans," James nodded.

Lily rolled her eyes and started back up to the castle.

"Lily!" Dorcas called running after her.

Alice eyed James for a moment smirking. "Potter."

"Prewett," James answered, smirking as well. She turned and started for the castle as well.

"Since you're my Quidditch captain I thought I should give you fair warning," Marlene began.

"Fair warning of what?" James asked raising an eyebrow.

"Alice said she would castrate you if you tried anything with Lily," Marlene told him plainly.

James' face drained of all color. The other three Marauders all burst out laughing. Marlene bit her lip, trying not to laugh as well. He did have a right to know.

"Just thought you should know," Marlene smiled before patting him on the shoulder and turning to walk up to the castle.

She quickly caught up with Alice and the others.

"What took you so long?" Dorcas asked.

"I was talking to James," Marlene told them.

"What'd Potter what?" Lily asked.

"Nothing," Marlene smiled.

Alice gave her a skeptical look, but said nothing while Lily just shrugged. The four girls made their way happily up to the castle, chatting about just about everything. Marlene noticed Regulus out of the corner of her eye. He was talking to Snape quietly. They seemed to be in a serious discussion about something or another. Marlene made a mental note to ask him later.

Suddenly Marlene's head collided with something solid and she fell backwards. She thought she was going to land gracefully on her butt when strong arms wrapped around her.

"If you wanted me this much, McKinnon, all you had to do was say so," a husky voice whispered in her ear.

Marlene groaned. Sirius Black was not what she wanted to deal with right now. Marlene closed her eyes.

"Marlene, are you ok?!" Lily's panicked voiced echoed from nearby.

"Marlene, really? A wall?" Alice laughed.

"Marlene, don't go to sleep," Dorcas told her. "You can't go to sleep; you might not wake up."

"Merlin, that bump is big," James muttered. "You should really watch where you're going, McKinnon."

"Marlene, can you hear me?" Lily questioned.

"Yes!" Marlene snapped, her eyes flying open. "I can hear all of you. I'm fine. Alice, this is not funny. Dorcas, I know that I'm not supposed to go to sleep. James, thank you for letting me know I'll have a huge bump on my head for the first day of school."

"What about me? Don't I get a thank you for catching you?" Marlene know noticed, for the first time, that Sirius' arms were still around her. She glared up at him.

"No," she replied before pushing away from him. The moment she did the world started to spin. She fell right back against Sirius. All of a sudden, she felt eyes on her. She looked up to see Regulus' hurt face. No, no, no! It wasn't what it looked like! Before she could even call to him he disappeared inside the castle.

"Mars, you need to go to the Hospital Wing," Lily whispered as not to anger her.

"No, I'll be fine," Marlene muttered.

"I could always carry you to the Great Hall," Sirius suggested.

Lily sent a glare his way. "Come on, Marls, let me take you to the Hospital Wing."

"No, I just need to rest here for a minute," Marlene breathed.

"Marlene, I'm serious," Lily said firmly.

"Hate to break it to you, love, but I'm right here."

"Sirius, that got old first year," Remus told him. Marlene felt him shrug.

"Just put a Cooling Charm on my forehead and I'll be fine," Marlene proposed.

Lily looked at Alice and Dorcas. Alice just shrugged while Dorcas raised her eyebrows. Lily pulled out her wand.

"If you feel funny at all, tell me right away," Lily muttered before casting the charm.

Marlene instantly felt better. Her head stopped spinning. She didn't feel any pain.

"Alright, Blondie?" Sirius asked as she stood up.

"I'm fine and don't call me that!" Marlene growled.

"Marlene, you still need to go to Madam Pomfrey," Lily begged. "She could take the swelling down."

"If it will make you shut up, fine," Marlene agreed. She rolled her eyes and started for the Hospital Wing.

She knew her friends were just trying to look out for her, but really when she said she was fine, she was fine. Why couldn't they believe her? She knew they were following her right now so she spend up. Right now, she really didn't want to talk to them. Her feet moved faster until she was practically jogging. Suddenly she felt a presence at her side.

"You alright, McKinnon?" Sirius asked quietly, looking down at her concerned.

"I'm fine," she bit out. Was he really going to act like he didn't try to run her life a few hours earlier? She was thoroughly pissed at him. "Why are you here? Why did Alice and Lily even let you talk to me?"

"I have longer legs than them," Sirius replied cheekily. "Besides Lily was busy yelling at James for something or another and Alice was watching that. I thought you might want someone to keep you company."

"Well, I don't so go away," Marlene told him.

"I see you're still mad about earlier."

"He got it right, well let's give him a medal!"

"Look, McKinnon, I know you don't believe, but Regulus is bad news. He isn't the kind to play around with. You need to stay away from him or else you might find yourself in situations you don't want to be in."

"Oh, yeah? Like what?"

"Like, oh, I don't know, him asking you to be a Death Eater."

"He's not like that," Marlene snapped. "He's kind, even if you don't want to believe it. Besides someone that sensitive wouldn't do something like that. Maybe your parents might try to make him, but he won't do it in the end."

"Trust me, that's where you're wrong," Sirius grabbed her arm and stopped her, "and they're not my parents. He will do whatever they ask him. No matter what, he's always wanted to please them. Aside from that, he's had Bellatrix as his teacher. She has him well rounded, I know."

"You don't know anything," Marlene hissed, yanking her arm away. "I can take care of myself. I don't need your help. I know him. I don't need you running my life for me either."

"Like I said I wasn't trying to run your life, I was trying to give you a piece of advice," he told her.

Marlene rolled her eyes and continued walking. The rest of the trip continued in silence. Marlene didn't say anything and Sirius didn't try to small take, which she was thankful for. Maybe if she just stayed quiet he would take the tint and leave. Of course, he didn't he stayed by her side until she reached the Hospital Wing. He was loyal, she would give him that.

When they reached the Hospital Wing, he went and got Madam Pomfrey for her. As she looked Marlene over, Sirius leaned against the wall waiting for her to get done. She couldn't help, but wonder why he was still there. He had no reason to be. If he wanted to know how she was later, then he could just ask one of her friends and that would be that. But no, he had to stay here and wait for her.

"Alright, you seem to be alright," Madam Pomfrey perceived. "You just hit your head. I gave a potion for the swelling and dizziness. Other than that you should be free to go."

"Thank you," Marlene muttered before standing up and walking out of the Hospital Wing. She made her way down to the Great Hall, trying to get away from Sirius. Unfortunately his legs were longer than hers so he caught up with her rather quickly.

"Trying to escape, McKinnon?"

Marlene rolled her eyes and continued to the Great Hall. She made it there in record time and went to sit with her friends. As soon as she reached them, she knew something was wrong. Lily sat with her face in her hands. Dorcas was patting her back and had one arm around her shoulders. Alice sat next to her looking like she was going to murder someone. Sirius had moved off to his friends as soon as they reached the Great Hall, thank Merlin. Now she could deal with this mess without having to worry about him watching her every move.

"What happened?" Marlene asked.

"James," Alice told her then quietly, "Lily kind of deserved it."

Marlene nodded knowing Alice would tell her later.

"Lils, are you ok?" Marlene inquired tentatively.

Lily's reply was to sob. "Oh, Lily," Marlene sighed. "It's ok. Whatever he said I'm sure it wasn't true."

"I'm a horrible person," Lily sobbed before she got up and ran out of the Great Hall with Dorcas following her.

"So what happened?" Marlene asked turning to Alice.

"Well, Lily got mad at James for some stupid reason," Alice began. "You know how she is. Anyways, I guess James just got fed up with her. He went on this whole rant about how all he did was try to impress her and she wouldn't give him the time of day. She called him a prick and he said she was a self-centered brat, who only thought about herself. He also said that she didn't care about other people's feelings, that the only thing she cared about was herself, and that she was no better than Snape. I would have kneed him, but he stormed off before I could."

"Wow," Marlene mumbled. All in all her first day back to Hogwarts was not the best. First she and Sirius went at and she didn't even know why he bothered with her when he hadn't even spoken to her for six years. Then she had to tell her friends about Regulus. Now Lily was hurt and it was all thanks to James. Not to mention she walked straight into a wall. Yep, it was shaping up to be a great year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Hope you like this chapter! I don't know about James in this chapter, but I like that he stood up to Lily. Tell me what you think and leave me a comment!


	6. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5** _

Marlene walked with her arms wrapped around Lily's shoulders back to the common room. Lily sniffed lightly. Dorcas had calmed Lily down a bit, but she was still pretty upset. While Marlene agreed that Lily could be too hard on James, she knew Lily didn't deserve this. Lily was sweetest person Marlene knew. She remained loyal to that prick, Snape, even when he was hanging out with Rosier and his lot. Lily was always the first to jump to any one of her friends defense if someone insulted them or tried to hurt them. No way did Lily deserve to be hurt by James bloody Potter. Before they reached to common room, Marlene decided to give the sexy Quidditch captain a piece of her mind.

When they reached the portrait hole, Lily shook Marlene's arm off and wiped at her eyes. Marlene smiled sadly; Lily would never let James see her cry. As soon as they entered, Marlene saw James laid stretched out the couch with Emmeline on his lap. She was giggling like a twit. James sat there with a smirk on his face. He glanced briefly in their direction before turning his attention back to Emmeline. Sirius sat at the far end of the couch looking rather bored and throwing balled up pieces of parchment at a sleeping Peter. Remus sat in on of the arm chairs, staring into the fire. He seemed completely lost in thought. His sandy blonde falling into his face at times.

Lily walked right past them and up to the girl's dormitory without so much as giving James a second glance. James seemed to be ignoring her as well, or at least trying because every now and again his eyes would glance over at the staircase. Marlene decided to see if Lily was alright before talking to James. Alice seemed to have the same idea as they both headed for the dormitory at the same time, with Dorcas in tow. Marlene and Alice ignored James and the other Marauders while Dorcas glared at them. In return, she received a suggestive look from Sirius and an apologetic smile from Remus.

"Lily?" Marlene asked as she opened the seventh year girl's dorm's door. She saw Lily lying on her bed with Mary rubbing her back whispering comforting words to her, even if she didn't know what this was all about. Marlene sighed and moved to the other side of Lily. She placed a hand on Lily's shaking shoulders, trying to offer her some comfort. "Don't worry about what James said. He didn't have the right. Down with the bulling toerag right?"

The old joke made Lily smile. In fourth year, Lily had been fuming about James hexing Snape again. She had been pacing the common room. Marlene and Alice had been rather bored at the time so they decided to come up with a phrase to use when Lily was mad at James. Thus 'down with the bullying toerag' was born. Alice had tormented James with it throughout the year, but he didn't seem to mind. He would just ask if that was her way of flattering him.

"I just. . .I don't know why I'm so upset," Lily mumbled. "I never cared what he thought of me before, but when he said. . .those things. . .I just got so upset."

"It's alright," Alice told her. "He's not worth the energy and hexes to blow him up."

Lily smiled. "I'm a mess."

"Come on, let's go and get you cleaned up," Dorcas suggested helping her off the bed. Mary followed them into the bathroom.

"Ready to corner the loin?" Alice inquired.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Marlene replied.

They both headed down the stairs. Reaching James, Alice crossed her arms and stood in front of him.

"Look, Prewett, you're attractive and all, but you're dating one of my mate so I'm afraid I can't help you," James smirked at her.

Alice gave Marlene a look. "If I wanted _that_ I wouldn't come to you. Everyone's knows your not that good anyway."

"What?!" James started nearly pushing Emmeline off of him. "I'll have you know that-"

"I really don't care about your sex life," Alice interrupted him. "I came here to talk to you about Lily."

"Oh," James relaxed, leaning back in his seat, "what about Evans?"

"I missed the first fight of the season?" Sirius asked intrigued. "Did it end in snogging?"

"Shut it, Black," Marlene snapped. "I'm not in the mood for your vulgar comments."

"Oh, touchy," Sirius smirked. "I could help with that."

"Touch her and I slaughter you," Alice stated then turned back to James. "Look, Potter, if you could just give me five minutes alone, I wouldn't bother you about this anymore."

"How do I know you won't castrate me?" James narrowed his eyes at her.

Alice gave Marlene a look before answering James, "Because Marlene will be there and she won't let me."

"Fine, excuse me, Em," James smiled at the brunette, who made a kissy face at him, before he followed Alice and Marlene to the other side of the room.

"You didn't have to be so harsh," Marlene snarled. "I know she's snapped your head off a thousand times before, but I also know that you always turned those rants into opportunities to ask her out. What changed this time? Lily may have a bad temper, but she is one of the sweetest people I know. She's kind and she's had my back in hundreds of fights. I'm not about to sit around while you practically call her a Death Eater."

"That's not what I said," James muttered looking down. "I just got so fed up of her biting my head off everytime I opened my mouth. I just. . .I don't know, I snapped."

"She's crying," Alice informed him, "because of what you said."

"What?" James' head snapped up. "I didn't mean to make her cry. I didn't think she would care."

"Yeah, well, she does," Marlene notified him.

"We'll leave you to your thoughts, Potter," Alice said, before she and Marlene turned and walked back up the girl's dormitory.

Marlene was stirred early the next morning by Dorcas. "Marlene, you need to get up. We're about to go down to breakfast."

Marlene sighed and got up. She slipped into the bathroom glad to have it to herself. It seemed that Emmeline, Mary, and Lily had already down to the Great hall because Dorcas and Alice were the only ones in the dormitory. She quickly removed her clothes and turned the water on. After washing her hair twice and cleaning her body, she toweled herself and her hair dry. Quickly she charmed her hair to fall in soft curls behind her back. Pulling her knickers and her bra on, she made her way into the dormitory and got dressed.

As the three girls head down the staircase, they heard voices. Alice put a finger up to her mouth and slowed her pace. The other two girls followed suit.

". . .I was being kind of rude to you for doing absolutely _nothing_ ," they heard Lily's voice say. "I deserved it."

"You didn't deserve any of it," James' voice sounded up the stairs. Alice raised her eyebrow at Marlene. Since when did James Potter apologize? "I was a prat back then. So you forgive me?"

"James, there was nothing to forgive," Lily told him. "I was the one in fault. Although it would make life easier if we were friends."

"Is that an invitation?" James asked playfully.

"What do you think?" Lily replied.

"I think you've got yourself a deal Evans."

The silence that followed intrigued Marlene. What were they doing? Were they kissing? Alice pulled on her sleeve and they continued down the staircase into the common room. When they got there, Lily was hugging James and he seemed quite content.

"Potter and Evans have made peace! Marlene, it's a miracle! I feel faint, catch me," Alice mimicked fainting. Just as she was about to fall onto Marlene, she stepped aside and Alice hit the floor. This caused Lily and James to burst out laughing while Alice glared up at Marlene. Looking out of the corner of her eye, Marlene noticed Sirius leaning against the wall next to the boy's dormitory. A smirk play on his face. His eyes settled on Marlene, they ran over her body before he winked at her. Marlene looked away blushing. He looked at her as if she were in her undergarments and it made her uncomfortable.

"So now that you've made peace with Evans, Prongs, can we go down to breakfast?" Sirius asked pushing himself off of the wall.

"Sure, mate," James replied grinning.

Alice, Dorcas, Lily, Marlene, and the two boys headed down to the Great Hall taking easily. Marlene was glad that Lily and James were on talking terms now. It made her life a whole lot easier now that she didn't have to hate her Quidditch captain. They seemed quite at ease with each other which surprised Marlene. Weren't they supposed to be all awkward now?

Marlene caught Sirius staring at her. He seemed to take great pleasure in making her uncomfortable. Every time his eyes grazed over her, it was like he was seeing deep inside her soul. She didn't like it one bit. It annoyed her more than anything else. She didn't care if boys stared at her, but the way he looked at her was odd. Like he knew something she didn't. She didn't like being left out on secrets.

They reached the Great Hall and seeing Remus, Emmeline, and Mary talking, walked over to them. Marlene took a seat next to Remus. Alice automaticly sat down next to her.

"So are things good between them?" Remus whispered to Marlene.

"Yeah, they're good," Marlene smiled back.

"Finally, peace," Remus muttered.

Marlene smiled and turned to her food. Something painfully connected with her leg causing her to wince. She looked up to see Sirius smirking at her. She glared at him and rubbed her shin. What was his problem? She hadn't done anything to upset him except yell at him yesterday, but she didn't think he would take that too personally. Honestly she was about to kill him.

"What's your problem?" she mouthed.

He shook his head and turned to his food, causing Marlene to glare at him. Marlene turned and she and Alice started talking about Quidditch. A little while later Lily stood up.

"I'm going to the library, guys," she told them. "I need to check up on some things before class."

Alice rolled her eyes. "You know the whole text by heart, why bother?"

"Alice, I need to study to remember it," Lily replied.

She turned and walked out of the Great Hall. Marlene smiled as she watched her, shaking her head. She turned back to Alice. After a moment or two James spoke, "Sirius." He gave Sirius a look and they both stood, hurrying out of the Great Hall.

Marlene looked at Alice. "Come on, I have a feeling they're up to something."

"Boys always are," Alice quipped.

Alice and Marlene ran out of the Great Hall. Marlene looked to the right and saw the back of Sirius' head turn the corner. Tugging on Alice's sleeve, she started to follow him. After a few sharp turns and almost losing the two boys, they finally caught up to them.

"What's wrong?" Marlene asked.

"Not now," James replied airily.

"Yeah, McKinnon, let the big boys handle this," Sirius told her.

Marlene glared at him. "And you wonder why I don't like you," she muttered.

"Because you love me," Sirius smiled down at her. "But seriously you need to get back to the Great Hall. James and I have business to attend to."

"Is it with Snape?" Alice guessed.

"No, it's more pressing than that greasy git," James replied before turning the corner. Marlene saw that he was headed for the library. Suddenly she felt uneasy. Lily was in the library. What if something happened to her? Was that why James was going in there? How did he know?

James made his way to the back of the library. When they were in pretty deep, Marlene could hear a faint voice saying words like 'no' 'don't' and 'stop'. James broke out into a run with Sirius behind him. Marlene and Alice followed suit. However the boys were faster than them and for a few minutes they lost sight of them. When they saw them again, James who on top of Evan Rosier, his fist making contact with his face over and over again. Lily was standing against the bookshelf. Her hair that had been in a bun was now lose and falling in her face; her skirt had ridden up quite a bit. Sirius finally pulled James off of Rosier, who had a bloody nose, two black eyes, and a busted lip.

"Don't you touch her again!" James shouted.

"It was no more than she deserved!" Rosier shouted back. "Stupid Mudblood!"

"Don't. Call. Her. That," James bit out.

"Calm down, mate," Sirius whispered. "He's trying to bate you."

"I threatened to castrate James if he tried anything with Lily, would you like me to do the same to you?" Alice asked, pulling out her wand.

Rosier looked between Alice and her wand for a moment, but didn't move.

"Git!" Alice shouted stomping one of her feet. Rosier scrambled to his feet and ran away as fast as he could run. As soon as he was gone, Lily ran over to James and hugged him, burying her face in his chest. Her shoulders began to shake. James rubbed her back and pulled her closer to him.

"It's alright, he's gone now," James cooed. "No one's going to hurt you."

"James is right, Lily," Marlene told her, moving closer to her friend. "We won't let anyone hurt you anymore. From now on no Slytherin will be able to get near you."

Lily nodded against James' chest, but didn't say anything and didn't look up. Marlene rubbed her back while Sirius and Alice stood back awkwardly. She knew this wasn't their department. They both hated talking about their emotions. Most of the time they just plastered smiles on their faces and went to find someone to help them get over it.

A thought suddenly popped into her head. How did she know that about Sirius Black? Had she been paying attention to him all these years and not even known it? She hadn't spoken to him in all her time at Hogwarts. How would she know what he did and didn't want to talk about? It just didn't make sense. No, he was just like Alice in some ways. That's how she knew.

"I've got it," James mouthed to Marlene over Lily's head. Marlene looked at Lily before looking back at James and nodding. She backed away slowly. Turning she started back toward the Great Hall intent on telling Dorcas about this. Remus, maybe. Mary and Emmeline, no.

"You were good back there," Alice told her.

"One of us has to have a heart," Marlene retorted.

Alice rolled her eyes. They walked in silence the rest of the way to the Great Hall, each in their own thoughts. Alice entered the Great Hall first, but Sirius grabbed Marlene's arm to stop her. Alice noticed that Marlene wasn't next to her anymore and turned around.

"You coming?" she asked eying them.

"Yeah, we'll be there in a second, Prewett," Sirius answered her.

Alice narrowed her eyes. "If you touch her, Black, and I will come after you."

"Relax, I can take care of myself," Marlene told her. Alice nodded before continuing.

"What do you want, Black?" Marlene asked.

"Walk with me?"

"What?" Out of all the things for him to say that was not what Marlene expected.

"Come on," he laced his fingers around her arm and gently pulled her along with him.

"What do want? Where are we going?" Marlene asked after a moment.

"So many questions, you know, curiosity killed the cat," Sirius chided playfully.

Marlene eyed him. She didn't know what to make of him. She didn't understand why he was going through so much to talk to her now when he had barely spoken to her in all her time at Hogwarts. She decided to break the silence.

"Look if you aren't going to tell me what you want then there's no use in dragging me around the castle."

He stopped by the lake, not even bothering to answer her question. After dropping her arm, he looked out at the lake. His face screwed up in concentration before turning back to her.

"Look, McKinnon," he started, running a hand through his hair, "I just wanted to say that the way you handled everything with Lily. . . .well, you did well. If you're willing to put up with me I think I could start being a little bit nicer to you."

Marlene watched him for a moment before speaking. "Does that mean you'll stop trying to boss me around?"

Sirius smiled and laughed. "Yeah, McKinnon, I think it does."

Marlene smiled before sticking out her hand. "Alright, Black, you've got yourself a deal."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Review!


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